The government stated that the tax relief amount is Rs 360 billion, but refused to share details

The federal government has refused to share the full amount of tax relief, exemptions and incentives in the current fiscal year with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance.

According to the committee chairman, Syed Naveed Qamar, this amount is about Rs 360 billion.

When asked by National Assembly member Javed Hanif Khan, Finance Secretary Imdad Bosal said that since the government is in talks with the IMF, the details cannot be disclosed. However, the government has privately shared the amount of relief with the chairman of the committee.

According to the report, this relief includes:

• Property sector: Rs 115 billion
• Salaried class: Rs 52 billion

The government has taken other steps such as reducing withholding taxes on the purchase and sale of property, reducing excise duty on air tickets, reducing withholding tax rates on credit cards and others.

Minister of State for Finance Bilal Kayani said that to avoid heavy taxes on business class tickets, people were upgrading them or booking them from abroad.

The government has abolished the 18 percent sales tax on the shipping industry.

Committee member Hina Rabbani Khar called it unprofessional not to share the details of the relief with the MPs.

The government claims that this relief is being given to promote economic growth, encourage investment, document the economy and improve tax collections.